New Delhi, Feb 2: A war of words broke out between Leader of Opposition Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in the Lok Sabha over the issue of MSMEs affected during the Covid pandemic. During questions session in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the Congress leader said that 60 lakh MSMEs were shut down and the government has done nothing to help them.
The Minister said the government has focused on the MSME sector and made sure there was adequate liquidity and credit was provided to them. “And with demand stimulus, most have come back to shape. The government provided Rs 4.5 lakh crore govt distributed loans to the MSME sector. “We will ensure that all MSMEs get support. We are working on Special discount on the MSME sector,” he added.
To Chowdhury’s allegation that 60 lakh MSME units were shut down, the minister said that there is no official data on this, but acknowledged that Covid has had a very terrible effect on the economy. Hitting out at the Congress party, which ruled the country for 60 years, he said: “I don’t want to do politics, but you must see what you people did that the industry is in such poor shape. The way you (Congress governments) did not support Indian industry, you must contemplate on how you damaged the Indian industry.” To this there was strong protest from Choudhury. Goyal also said that through the PLI scheme launched in 14 sectors, the government is trying to make India into a hub of global manufacturing and supply, and the world is keen to partner with India. India’s mobile manufacturing is a success story today, he added.
